Consequences of War History Term Paper Research Paper (Term Paper Sample)

The consequences for the Herero and Nama of the 1904-07 War against German Rule
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The consequences for the Herero and Nama of the 1904-07 War against German Rule
Introduction
The Herero and Nama genocide is the first atrocity of the twentieth century committed by colonizing Germany. The unfortunate event is generally referred to as the Namibian genocide because it involved two of the major Namibian indigenous communities known as the Herero and Nama. Between 1904 and 1908, South West Africa under German occupation witnessed massive abuse, enslavement, extortion, and killing of indigenous people that constituted to genocide. The Herero led by Maharero Samuel and their Nama counterparts led by Witbooi Hendrik started an uprising to rebel German authoritarian occupation. Unfortunately, the uprising stood no chance against the organized German forces, whose clout firmly gripped the region. Consequently, Germans launched a ruthless response under General Lothar that culminated in the shooting of many indigenous people. Many Hereros and Namas died in combat, specifically during the Battle of Waterberg (Kundrus, 2005). Other strategies used by the Germans to annihilate Namibians included locking them in concentration camps to die of exhaustion and pushing them to the desert to die of dehydration. The Herero and Nama genocide was a historic event the shaped the social, political, and economic status of present day Namibia